Lesson 6: Trees And Shrubs
Caring For Trees
Once your trees are planted and have established themselves well, they will require routine care, which will differ depending on the variety of trees you have. Fruit trees, not surprisingly, require the most routine maintenance.
Since fruits have different maturity rates, you need to know when to spray for setting fruit and pest/disease control. Here are some tips on the various needs of fruit trees:
Pear leaf blister mite and scales can be controlled with lime sulfur and oil sprays during the late dormant period.
Citrus trees aren´t normally bothered by insects. The two most common insects though, are mealybugs and thrips. Spraying with dormant oil will deter them.
Citrus trees need year round feeding, once a month. This guarantees the steady supply of nutrients needed to bear great fruit.
Citrus trees benefit from a balanced fertilizing, consisting of slow release nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Pick a formula that also contains iron and zinc.
If you are experiencing orange drop (the falling off of unripened fruit from your orange trees) uneven watering could be your problem. This is especially true of tubbed trees. Make sure the tubs are elevated off the ground to promote good air circulation. Often, potted trees get much too hot if they are sitting directly on the ground. Make certain to water thoroughly at regular intervals.
Here is a new way to control apple coddling moths. Adults lay their eggs inside the fruit and you can use this against them. Cut a slice out of several fruits, and flag them. Each week, cut another slice and look for the pinhead size larvae eggs. Scrape off and throw away the larvae. If you find holes or "frass", cut into the area and destroy the larvae. The use of horticultural oil and traps can help eliminate this problem.
For an organic solution to apple maggots, try an apple maggot trap kit. They can be purchased both on and off line at many major gardening centers. It´s a very effective solution to common problem.
Given plenty of moisture, lots of sunlight and good pest control, it takes 6 to 7 years for most apple varieties to produce a big harvest.
Apricot trees need to be pruned in August/September, not Spring or Fall like other fruit trees.
Trees need to be monitored for signs of distress such as browning, oozing sap and chewed foliage. Dogwood anthracnose, which affects Pacific dogwood, causes splotches on leaves and twig dieback. Prune out and destroy infected twigs and use fungicidal sprays of benomyl to control the disease. Start spraying at bud break and continue until dry weather arrives.
If your trees are already starting to turn, it is a sign the tree is stressed. This can be from drought, inadequate watering, insects or disease. Check the trees carefully and remedy the problem.
If the leaves on your magnolia are dropping, and you notice shiny bumps on the bark, you have scale. Magnolias are susceptible to scales and need to be watched for this problem. The other problem is improper fertilisation causing high salt damage to the tree. Improper shallow watering is the third most common cause of leaf droppage in magnolias.
If you have noticed webbing in the branch crotches or at their ends of your ornamental and shade trees, you have caterpillars. The webbing are nests for the Fall webworm. If left unchecked, they can very quickly defoliate your trees. As soon as you spot them, handpick or spray with bacillus thurengiensis- Bt, on the webs, branches and foliage to eliminate the caterpillars. Bt is specific to this family of insects and won´t harm beneficial bugs, animals or humans.
Most of these problems can be dealt with easily and safely. Don’t prune trees unless you have dead or hanging limbs. All you really need to do is keep the soil loose and cultivated around the tree. A well cared for tree can last 25 years or more for some species. Not a bad return for your time and money!
